Liferaft inflation system

ABSTRACT

A system for inflating the tubular areas of an inflatable liferaft from a gas cylinder, by enclosing the cylinder and valve mechanism inside a hermetically sealed container which is connected to the liferaft tubes by non-return valve. Actuation of the cylinder is by a cable operating through an air-tight sleeve, the cable leading to the cylinder valve, and because the sleeve is flexible and can be contracted by the cable, like a bellows, the cable can be pulled and the valve operated exterior to the container. Access to the cylinder for replacement or servicing may be employed by using an airtight slide fastener closing an opening in the container, or by opening, and thereafter closing, a seam. The container preferably is dimensioned and positioned so that it can be in the form of a boarding ramp or ladder-step mount.

United States Patent Edwards [54] LIFERAFT INFLATION SYSTEM [72]Inventor: David V. Edwards, Mill Lane,

Neshanic, NJ. 08853 [22] Filed: March 10, 1971 [21] Appl. No: 122,866

[52] US. Cl. ..9/11 A, 9/2A [51] Int. Cl. ..B63c 9/04, B63b 7/08 [58]FieldofSearch ..9/ll A,2A,3l9,3l4,3l6, 9/318; ZZZ/3,5

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,023,932 3/1962 Hennis etal ..9/1l 3,037,218 6/1962 Brooks ..9/11 A 3,051,356 8/1962 Kirby..222/5 3,144,667 8/1964 Dobbs ..9/3 16 3,173,162 3/1965 Elder ..9/3163,212,112 10/1965 Reffell ..9/11 A 51 Aug. 22, 1972 PrimaryExaminerMilton Buchler Assistant Examiner-Gregory W. OConnor Attorney-W.Lee Helms ABSTRACT A system for inflating the tubular areas of aninflatable liferaft from a gas cylinder, by enclosing the cylinder andvalve mechanism inside a hermetically sealed container which isconnected to the liferaft tubes by nonreturn valve. Actuation of thecylinder is by a cable operating through an air-tight sleeve, the cableleading to the cylinder valve, and because the sleeve is flexible andcan be contracted by the cable, like a bellows, the cable can be pulledand the valve operated exterior to the container. Access to the cylinderfor replacement or servicing may be employed by using an airtight slidefastener closing an opening in the container, or by opening, andthereafter closing, a seam. The container preferably is dimensioned andpositioned so that it can be in the form of a boarding ramp orladder-step mount.

PATENTEDwszz m2 INVENTOR. 94 054 VFW LIFERAFT INFLATION SYSTEM Theinvention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings,in which:

FIG. I is a vertical section through superimposed inflatable tubes of aliferaft, showing part of the sheet flooring, the section also beingthrough a container in which the gas cylinder is positioned, and showingthe sealed sleeve and cable leading to the cylinder valve.

FIG. 2 is an end view of a raft having superimposed tubes and thecontainer mounted thereon in position to be used as a boarding ramp.

On rafts floated with inflatable tubing, the coating generally employedwith the employed coated fabrics from which the tubing is made,particularly polychloroprene coatings, is liable to crack when stressedunder low temperature flexing obtained during the inflation from theflat-folded form of the tubing. As corrective media protection linershave been fitted inside the tubes, but cracking during the initialstages of inflation is aggravated by carbon dioxide which, when expandedin inflation changes to dry ice in folds of the fabric before the foldedtubing, by the gas pressure, is ejected from packaged form, as when heldin a container-carrier. Since the exact points of fold cannot bedetermined in advance, protection liners, when used, must be fitted tothe complete interior wall area of the tubes. Also in current liferaftsthe gas cylinders are mounted in pockets, and sometimes fail inflationdue to corrosion of their valves and the kinking of their highpressurefeed tubes. A purpose of the present invention is to overcome the saiddifficulties, by the following system.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, I have shown in transverse sectionsuperimposed tubes 1 of a liferaft, and it may be considered that theyare at one end of a raft. The said inflatable tubes are held together inany suitable way, as by the flanged connecting members at 2. At 3 isindicated a sheet flooring. At 4 is a hermetically sealed container,with the exception that it may communicate with the tubes 1 vianon-return flap valves 5. Within the sealed container 4 is shown acylinder which will contain a gas under high pressure, as shown at 6,with a valve 7 adapted to be operated by pull on a cable 7. This cableleads downwardly through a flexible and contractable sleeve 8 and whichis hermetically closed at its top by a closure 8 and which has a flangedbase hermetically sealed to the bottom wall of container 4. The cablemay be knotted at the top of the sleeve closure 8 so that when it ispulled downward sleeve 8 will be contracted, somewhat like a bellows,and the cable will open the valve. Of course the container 4 remainssealed in such operation.

When the cable is pulled and the gas cylinder is opened, the gaspressure builds up in the container 4 until the pressure therein opensthe flap valves and the gas rushes into the tubing with full flow sothat the folded raft tubing may be ejected from its carrier approachinginstantaneous speed, and before dry-ice can build up in the tubingflods, thus removing the prime cause of tube-coating cracking. A furtherutility is that the gas cylinder, with its pressure head and valve, iskept free from corrosion, being hermetically sealed in container 4.

The cylinder container preferably is mounted on an angle on the exteriorface of the inflatable tubular area of the raft, as indicated in FIG. 2,lying at an angle to serve as a ramp or step carrier.

It Wlll be understood that various modifications may be made in theembodiment illustrated, within the spirit of the annexed claims.

Having described my invention with I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is as follows:

1. A liferaft inflation system, for tubular floation members havingnon-return valve openings and nonreturn valves controlling said valveopenings, comprising a container having gas-egress openings adapted tobe placed by said container into sealed open-connection with saidvalves, the container otherwise being hermetically sealed, apressure-gas cylinder in said container and having a valve, a sleeve ofresilient form in said container, the sleeve being hermetically sealedagainst ingress of gas from said container, and a cable connectedoperatively to the valve of the gas cylinder and to said sleeve, thecable leading out of the container for manual pull and to contract thesleeve, thereby opening the cylinder valve.

2. A liferaft inflation system for tubular floatation members,constructed in accordance with claim 1, said floatation numbers beingdisposed marginally of the liferaft general area, in which the containerfor the gas cylinder is attached to at least one of said floatationmembers, forming a boarding ramp for the liferaft inflatable by the gascylinder.

1. A liferaft inflation system, for tubular floation members havingnon-return valve openings and non-return valves controlling said valveopenings, comprising a container having gas-egress openings adapted tobe placed by said container into sealed open-connection with saidvalves, the container otherwise being hermetically sealed, apressure-gas cylinder in said container and having a valve, a sleeve ofresilient form in said container, the sleeve being hermetically sealedagainst ingress of gas from said container, and a cable connectedoperatively to the valve of the gas cylinder and to said sleeve, thecable leading out of the container for manual pull and to contract thesleeve, thereby opening the cylinder valve.
 2. A liferaft inflationsystem for tubular floatation members, constructed in accordance withclaim 1, said floatation members being disposed marginally of theliferaft general area, in which the container for the gas cylinder isattached to at least one of said floatation members, forming a boardingramp for the liferaft inflatable by the gas cylinder.